1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a carrier to be worn by a skier for enabling the skier to easily carry pairs of skis and poles, or the like, alongside his body without the carrier sliding off and the skis and poles falling to the ground. Moreover, the skier need not hold the carrier, thereby freeing his hands to perform other tasks.
2. Background Art
As will be known to those skilled in the art, it is a cumbersome and sometimes difficult task for a skier to carry pairs of skis and poles over a long distance, particularly when there is heavy snow on the ground. The skis and poles are usually bulky and heavy and, consequently, may be dropped or cause the skier to loose his balance during transport.
Accordingly, carriers have been proposed which are to be worn by the skier and coupled to his skis and poles to enable the skier to more easily carry said skis and poles over long distances. Generally, such carriers include a strap that is worn over the skier's shoulder to support the weight of the skis and poles. However, this support strap is known to frequently slide off the shoulder of the skier, particularly when the skier walks, bends over or turns his body. To overcome the tendency of the support strap to slide off his shoulder, the skier typically uses one of his hands to grasp and hold onto such strap. This action requires the constant attention of the skier and leaves only one hand free to perform other tasks.
Examples of carriers which can be worn by a skier to facilitate transport of his skis and poles but which are characterized by the shortcomings described above are available by referring to the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ 4,456,284 June 26, 1984 4,470,528 September 11, 1984 4,518,107 May 21, 1985 4,658,999 April 21, 1987 ______________________________________